It’s my turn to pick the next bookclub read and the November blahs are on so I’d prefer something fun to read. Bookclub debate/discussion is far more interesting if the characters are complex so that’s a priority as well.
So, whachya got?
What requirements do y’all have? Must it be a current book? Available as an ebook? A stand-alone novel?
The Nix. Super-fun read. Might be kind of long for a book club, though.
Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore. An (ultimately) a science fiction novel about the French Impressionists. Like all of his work, it’s wickedly funny with great characters.
Anything else by himself fit, too.
Absent any criteria other than those listed in the OP, allow me to recommend a book written by a British banker set in Tokyo about a Japanese private detective, a deadly prostitute, a cult and yakuza with a hot new designer drug: Buddha Kiss by Peter Tasker.
It’s actually the 2nd Kazoo Mori book, but reading the 1st is in no way necessary for understanding this story; this was the first of Mr. Tasker’s books I ever read and remains my favorite.
Copies are available on Amazon for as little as $.01 + shipping.
Thanks guys, I’ll look into them.
Let’s go to the quarry and throw stuff down there!
:smack:
Damn you, autocorrect!
Kazuo, not Kazoo.
***Gone South ***by Robert R McCammon.
***Lucky You ***by Carl Hiaasen.
Going after Cacciato by Tim O’Brien.
The Virtues of Hell by Pierre Boulle.
Superfolks by Robert Mayer satirized the whole superhero genre. Really absurd in places, and actually touching in others. I haven’t read it in a long time, but I chuckle just thinking about the scene in which the protagonist flies into a telephone pole, and a sex scene with Peter Pan of all people.
I have to admit I wasn’t impressed by Superfolks. I feel Soon I Will be Invincible by Austin Grossman does a much better job with the same territory.
…and I bought Soon I will Be Invincible based on multiple recommendations here on the Dope and found it to be mostly terrible.
ETA: My point is that maybe books about superhero are, by their nature, not gonna involve complex characters.
The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. Sad, but so good.
I would recommend the book The Castle by Franz Kafka. His way of writing adds incredible personality to his characters that is both realistic and surreal. Every character is distinct. There is nothing else I’ve encountered quite like him. Sadly it’s translated over from German so there is some nuance lost in translation, but I would still recommend it very highly.
As per the OP, is it fun?
Anything by Christopher Moore. He cracks me up and his characters are excellent. Try “The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove” (note: sex figures in most of his books, so may or may not be suitable for your intended audience).
Anything by Terry Pratchett–more obviously fantasy than Moore*, no sex visible, hilarious beyond describing.
- Moore: e.g. prehistoric monster with mental powers invades sleepy California coastal town.
Pratchett: Wizzards and dwarfs, etc., interact on a flat world on the back of 4 elephants carried through space on the back of a giant space turtle–the Astrochelonian, species Chelys galactica–named Great A’Tuin. The characters are EXCELLENT and the fun never ends. Also, moving moments abound.
Re: Pratchett–If you would like some strong female characters, try Carpe Jugulum (vampyres) or Witches Abroad (fairytales deconstructed). Others of interest might be: Small Gods (religious fanaticism skewered), Hogfather (the holidays lampooned), Soul Music (the spirit of Rock & Roll…with dwarves, death and his granddaughter, road stories, continual band-name puns–younger folk won’t get 'em), The Truth (news reporting and an attempted royal Coup d’état), Feet of Clay (police procedural with werewolves and golems).
I second this.
Jasper fforde has done a series of fast paced humorous novels. He’s best known for his Thursday Next series, starting with The Eyre Affair. Thursday is a an agent of the Chronoguard, who can enter books and change them. It’s set in a weird parallel world, with great characters (Miss Havisham is a hoot).
I also loved his Shades of Grey (no relation), set in a dystopia where your social standing depends on which colors you perceive. Thus, the lowest classes can only see grey and the higher classes can see more colors. It’s fast and funny and very weird (the manufacture of spoons is illegal) and the world building is amazing.
Another good one is A. Lee Martinez, who also does humor and fantasy. Monster is terrific (about a bounty hunter). Other great ones are Divine Misfortune (where gods exist and you get to choose one), Chasing the Moon, Helen and Troy’s Epic Road Trip, and his first Gil’s All-Fright Diner. Often the fate of the Universe is at stake, but it’s more fun than frightening.
The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. A very smart, literary time travel tale with a Beatles song thrown in for good measure.
Titus Groan, by Mervyn Peake.
The golem and the jinni
Helene Wecker